Question Dune: Spice Wars

[McStabStab]

Dune: Spice Wars just released in early access. It looks pretty cool, kind of like an RTS / 4X title. Has anyone here played it?

I read its from the makers of Northgaard but I never tried that game. The early access reviews sound like people are enjoying it but say it’s a clone of Northgaard, which means not a whole lot to me!

 

[Brian Boru]

Dune: Spice Wars … like an RTS / 4X title

That catches my attention, 2 fav genres + the world of Dune—I loved the first 3 of Frank Herbert's books, great worldbuilding. Haven't played, watched 10 minutes of the dev playing just now, looks decent for Early Access.

Comments mention it's relaxing and not about massive armies whacking each other, that there is in fact a fair bit of Strategy, so I'm definitely interested.

Northgaard but I never tried that game

Me neither, but on my wishlist. My main wish is they'll stop dribbling out DLCs, latest one 3 months ago for a 2018 game.

So I suppose I might pick up Dune around 2030 if they follow the same path with it

 

[DXCHASE]

I want to jump in but i dont have 30 bucks to spend on a game in a genre im not super interested in, but the fact that its Dune i might have to at some point. Its on my wishlist and im keeping an eye on it, if i pick it up ill write about it.

 

[Brian Boru]

I noticed 3-4 YouTubers have videos up about it, and PotatoMcWhiskey looks to be doing a multi-part playthru, so should be plenty of opinion around for anyone who wants that

 

[Pifanjr]

I'm very curious about it and my wife is a massive Dune fan, so I have it wishlisted. I read somewhere that the game is a bit lacking still, but I wasn't planning on buying it in early access anyway (and probably not before it's on sale), so hopefully any issues with it will be resolved.

 

[Colif]

Not like its a new idea. I bought a Mega drive to play Dune... in 1985?

Some completely unknown company called Westwood made that one. They went on to make Command & Conquer next.

I have seen people playing the new one but I haven't looked at it myself.

 

[Brian Boru]

in 1985?

'92 is when that came out, it was called Dune II. There was also an adventure game called Dune which came out same year, from Cryo/Virgin.

There's a boat load of all sorts of games based on Dune:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_games_based_on_Dune

 

[Colif]

The year was a guess. I didn't check. Makes more sense if I think about it.

 

[Hitobat]

I'm quite interested in it, but haven't tried playing yet.

I did play Northgard and enjoyed it a fair bit, so I'm hoping for good things.
If it's anything like Northgard, then there's less about piling on the units (like Command and Conquer / Dune II or 2000) and more about juggling a small set (I think 6 or so? in Northgard) of resources and deciding which to prioritise or spend.

There's probably some YouTube Let's Play episodes out by now, so you can probably watch an ep or 2 and see if you find it interesting.

 

[Pifanjr]

I've watched about an hour or so of the developers playing the game and it looks really good, especially considering it's still in Early Access. The mechanics seem fairly simple but well thought out, almost as if it could be a board game instead, which I really like. The flow of the game itself looks like it's fairly close to one of Paradox' grand strategy games, so there might be some times where you're mostly waiting for something to finish, but you can fast forward the game during those times and there seems to be enough micro-management stuff available that you don't have to be completely bored.

I also really liked that the AI sends you messages that don't really do anything mechanically, but help you to immerse into the game world a bit more. The game does seem like it would be better suited to play against other players than the AI though.

 

[Colif]

this guy played a bit of all 4 factions - https://www.youtube.com/c/PotatoMcWhiskey/playlists

i wish there were more than 4 factions

 

[Colif]

The problem I have with what I have seen so far its all been done before.
Dune started the genre and now its back, it just feels like a reskin of C&C lol (which is ironic as that is what Dune 2 became). Tiberium sun... collecting spice... tech trees... yawn

It needs more innovation, not just a return to where it was already.

hope they add more factions too.

 

[Brian Boru]

It needs more innovation

Why?

If I like a game, the best thing I can hear is "They're making a similar second game". Great, I know it'll be good.

If what I hear is "Dev is making second game and really forging a new path for the franchise", then my reactions is "Oh FFS, here we go again"—iow another headstone in the graveyard of those who forgot why people loved their earlier game.

Football, rugby, American football, cricket, athletics—the only one of those which has changed significantly in 50 years is rugby. The other minor sports I played are also still the same. Yet millions attend their fixtures, and tens of millions tune in to watch.

Why? Lack of innovation is one major reason.
If your first game sucked, then innovate. If it was praised and loved, don't.

 

[Colif]

it doesn't feel that much different to Dune 2 (I know it is). It just feels like a reskin of any number of other games.

Dune 2 was original, this is just... oh, we doing this again.

10 years will be the 8k version with even better graphics... its how they "improve games" by throwing more flashing lights at you.

 

[Hitobat]

i wish there were more than 4 factions

Well from what I remember from Northgard they released other tribes as DLC packs. So you may get your wish, assuming you're willing to pay for it...

 

[Pifanjr]

The problem I have with what I have seen so far its all been done before.
Dune started the genre and now its back, it just feels like a reskin of C&C lol (which is ironic as that is what Dune 2 became). Tiberium sun... collecting spice... tech trees... yawn

It needs more innovation, not just a return to where it was already.

hope they add more factions too.

I disagree. C&C is a base-building RTS series, which is a very different genre than real time 4X. The closest video game I have played is Sins of a Solar Empire, but even then it's vastly different.

 

[Pifanjr]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1529474391108730880

View: https://mobile.twitter.com/Funcom/status/1529474391108730880/photo/1


Apparently they are going to add a new faction.

 

[ZedClampet]

real time 4X.

I don't know what that means. Is Stellaris real time 4x? There are no turns.

I'm beginning to be a fan of 4x. Will probably get this.

 

[Pifanjr]

I don't know what that means. Is Stellaris real time 4x? There are no turns.

I'm beginning to be a fan of 4x. Will probably get this.

Yes, Stellaris is also a real time 4X.

EDIT:

I'm really getting into the 4X genre now, but I'm a little ambivalent about actually finishing the games. I think I like the early game the best.

Just saw this quote in another thread. One of the things I like about this game is that a single game is only supposed to last for 2-3 hours. The amount of expanding you can do is limited by a resource (Authority), so it should avoid the late-game problems of most 4X games where there's too much stuff to take care of.

 

[ZedClampet]

Dune: Spice Wars released to 1.0 last week and the user reviews immediately tanked. Apparently it went into full launch without having a real single-player campaign and lots of people aren't happy.

 

[Pifanjr]

Dune: Spice Wars released to 1.0 last week and the user reviews immediately tanked. Apparently it went into full launch without having a real single-player campaign and lots of people aren't happy.

It always seemed like a game you should be playing with your friends, not something that would work well with AI or even with strangers.